Nanostructured metal organic material electrode separators and methods therefor

Abstract

Provided herein are nanostructured electrode separators comprising metal organic materials capable of attaching to one or more electrodes and electrically insulating at least one electrode while allowing migration of ionic charge carriers through the nanostructured electrode separator. Methods of using such electrode separators include positioning a nanostructured electrode separator between two electrodes of an electrochemical cell.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A nanostructured electrode separator, consisting essentially of:
 a metal organic material, 
 wherein the nanostructured electrode separator is attached to a surface of a manganese oxide electrode, is a phase-pure material, and serves as an electrical insulator between the manganese oxide electrode and a second electrode and has an average pore diameter less than 20 nm and greater than 10 nm. 
 
     
     
       2. The electrode material of  claim 1 , wherein the metal-organic material is a metal-organic framework. 
     
     
       3. The electrode material of  claim 1 , wherein the metal-organic material is a metal-organic polyhedron. 
     
     
       4. The electrode material of  claim 1 , wherein the metal-organic material is a coordination polymer. 
     
     
       5. The electrode material of  claim 1 , wherein the nanostructured separator includes a zinc or lead coordination compound. 
     
     
       6. The electrode material of  claim 5 , wherein the nanostructured separator includes a zinc terephthalate metal-organic framework. 
     
     
       7. The electrode material of  claim 5 , wherein the nanostructured separator includes a lead-(4,4′-sulfonyldibenzoate) metal-organic framework. 
     
     
       8. The nanostructured electrode separator of  claim 1 , wherein the metal organic material comprises Zn-MOF1, Zn-MOF2, Zn-MOF3, Zn-MOF4, ZnMOF5, Cu-MOF1, Cu-MOF2, Tb-MOF1, Tb-MOF2, Cd-MOF1, Cd-MOF2, CdMOF3, Co-MOF1, Co-MOF2, Zn-MOF6, MOF-5, Cu(4,4′-bpy) 1.5 NO 3 (H 2 O) 1.25 , [Cu 3 (TMA) 2 ] n , [Cu(OH)—(C 5 H 4 NCO 2 ], MOF-38, Ag(4,4′-bpy)NO3, IRMOF-1, IRMOF-2 and IRMOF-3, IRMOF3, IRMOF7, or a supramolecular assembly comprising a 1:8 ratio of a supermolecular polyhedral building blocks and a triangular molecular building blocks which form a (3,24)-connected rht net. 
     
     
       9. An electrochemical cell comprising:
 a first electrode; 
 a nanostructured electrode separator consisting essentially of a metal organic material, wherein the nanostructured electrode separator is phase-pure and attached to a surface of the first electrode and has an average pore diameter less than 20 nm and greater than 10 nm; and 
 a second electrode electrically insulated from the first electrode by the nanostructured electrode separator, wherein one of the first electrode and second electrode is a manganese oxide electrode. 
 
     
     
       10. The electrochemical cell of  claim 9 , wherein the metal-organic material is a metal-organic framework. 
     
     
       11. The electrochemical cell of  claim 9 , wherein the metal-organic material is a metal-organic polyhedron. 
     
     
       12. The electrochemical cell of  claim 9 , wherein the metal-organic material is a coordination polymer. 
     
     
       13. The electrochemical cell of  claim 9 , wherein the nanostructured separator includes a zinc or lead coordination compound. 
     
     
       14. The electrochemical cell of  claim 13 , wherein the nanostructured separator includes a zinc terephthalate metal-organic framework. 
     
     
       15. The electrochemical cell of  claim 13 , wherein the nanostructured separator includes a lead-(4,4′-sulfonyldibenzoate) metal-organic framework. 
     
     
       16. The electrochemical cell of  claim 9 , wherein the metal organic material nanostructured separator comprises Zn-MOF1, Zn-MOF2, Zn-MOF3, Zn-MOF4, ZnMOF5, Cu-MOF1, Cu-MOF2, Tb-MOF1, Tb-MOF2, Cd-MOF1, Cd-MOF2, CdMOF3, Co-MOF1, Co-MOF2, Zn-MOF6, MOF-5, Cu(4,4′-bpy) 1.5 NO 3 (H 2 O) 1.25 , [Cu 3 (TMA) 2 ] n , [Cu(OH)—(C 5 H 4 NCO 2 ], MOF-38, Ag(4,4′-bpy)NO3, IRMOF-1, IRMOF-2 and IRMOF-3, IRMOF3, IRMOF7, or a supramolecular assembly comprising a 1:8 ratio of a supermolecular polyhedral building blocks and a triangular molecular building blocks which form a (3,24)-connected rht net. 
     
     
       17. The electrochemical cell of  claim 9 , wherein the second electrode comprises lithium.